Thursday, March 22, 2012

Hankie Pankie

Photo from last summer. Notice the slight tan and the relaxed I've-been-sleeping-in-for-the-past-month look about me. Hoping to get a little of that back with my upcoming Spring Break.

Okay, call me crazy, but I don't think this warm weather is going anywhere. It's been in the 80's for a week or more in these parts and I don't see any signs of stopping. Which is totally cool with me. In fact, I've gotten so excited about the warm weather I've begun the long process of pulling out my tub(ssss) of summer clothes. And, in doing so, I found this skirt I had created last summer. I thought it was kinda funny how similar in concept this Hankie Skirt (Skankie?) was to my Scarf Blouse (I've settled on Blarf).

Inspiration: anthropologie. Funny story, I was once scolded at an anthro store for taking pictures of a display. Now I'm much more stealthy.

I just about died when I saw this skirt at anthro last summer. And then I died some more when I saw the price tag. So I began thinking of creating my own Skankie using vintage hankies, not some knock-off printed-in-China ones as seen on the anthro skirt.

The hankies that didn't make the cut. To be honest, I just couldn't bear the thought of cutting into the 1952 calendar hankie...it's just too sweet.

And while I do have some vintage hankies, I knew I'd need quite a few to make this skirt. So a friend and I went on an antiquing adventure and stumbled upon a treasure trove of hankies. I only allowed myself to buy those that were under $3 which helped limit the huge selection. The best part about creating this skirt was hunting for those perfect little hankies.

This is one of the first sewing books I bought when I got my sewing machine several years ago. The directions are simple and the skirts are adorable.

I decided to use the Swing Your Partner prairie skirt pattern from Sew What! Skirts. I sewed the hankies together, sometimes right sides together, sometimes overlapping the hankies if the edge was pretty. Once I had a strip of hankies sewn, I added muslin behind the hankies so they weren't so translucent.

Front and back of the skirt. The embroidery you see is on the belt...which is for sale in my shop.

Then began the task of gathering. For the top piece, a strip of elastic was added for the waist. I do love me some elastic waistlines. Then I gathered the top edge of the fabric of the second piece with a basting stitch. After gathering, I pinned the right sides of the layers together and sewed. This step was repeated again for the bottom tier of the skirt. To get yourself some thorough, easy-to-comprehend directions, I strongly recommend this book. Or a youtube tutorial.

So there you have it, The Skakie. Perfect for these summery hot spring days.

Well, kids, that's all for now. I'm heading out of town to Memphis this weekend for an art teacher gathering and some hangout time with one of my favorite friends. This friend of mine is the talented one who helped me sew my first dress from a vintage pattern: http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2010/02/blog-post.html. I'll be back soonish with my What-I-Wore-This-Week post...which I'm really excited about as I've got something new in store! Enjoy the rest of your week.